VIII - Miki
by This Modern Glitch
Summary: A short drabble about Hiei/Boton. Hiei had said they couldn't have a pet. Hiei had said that. [...] So, if that was true: Why then, was Hiei standing in the doorway with a small kitten sleeping and purring in the palm of his hand?
1. Chapter 1

A/N: Not much to say, I just got back into YYH and and I remembered how much I loved the two of them. So this takes place a while after Hiei and Botan get together, just thought about how it would go if they got a pet as most couples do after they've been together a while. Miki means "beautiful princess" if anyone was curious. She works hard to live up to the name.

Disclaimer: I do not own Yu Yu Hakusho or any character's associated with it. This is a work of pure fiction.

Summary: A short drabble about Hiei/Boton. Hiei had said they couldn't have a pet. Hiei had said that. [...] So, if that was true: Why then, was Hiei standing in the doorway with a small kitten sleeping and purring in the palm of his hand?

_VIII - Miki  
><em>

* * *

><p><strong>VIII - Pt. 1<strong>

Hiei had said they couldn't have a pet. Hiei had said that. Hiei, the ferocious fire demon of the makai world, the leveler of battlefields- He had said they couldn't have a pet. They didn't have enough time for one he'd told her, and beyond that, ningen animals were weak and pathetic like their human counterparts. Nothing worth keeping around the house. Botan hadn't agreed with Hiei's sentiments but she had conceded to the fact a pet wasn't the best thing. Their lives were simply too unpredictable.

So, if all that was true: Why then, was Hiei standing in the doorway with a small kitten sleeping and purring in the palm of his hand?

That was most definitely on the top of Botan's list of questions. Unfortunately for her, Hiei didn't seem to be in the mood to answer any of her questions considering he too fell asleep as soon as his head hit the pillows.

The kitten, far from looking scared or frightened in the hands of such a demon, curled atop Hiei's chest and resumed it's state of blissful sleep.

Botan choose to let the incident go, for the night anyhow. The pair looked too content to disturb.

...x...

In the morning Botan was greeted by the small tongue of a kitten licking her face. She laughed, picking the kitten up in her arms and cuddling it close to her chest. Hiei watched her from the other side of the bed without comment. For the most part Hiei looked on with little indication of his feelings in the matter. There was however, the small curl of a smile on his lips. That small wisp of a smile won Botan's silence for the second time. The fact that a kitten was sharing their bed with them was far more interesting than the question of how it came to be there.

...x...

The kitten, who came to be known as Miki, quickly became radically involved the lives of the demon and the ferry girl.

Where most would have assumed the kitten would become a hindrance for a speedy demon such as Hiei, Miki in fact seemed to become more of a friendly companion during his practices. Whether she was sitting apart from him in a nearby tree or on his shoulder, Miki kept herself close to him throughout the experience. Moreover, she seemed to find enjoyment in watching- and even occasionally accompanying his lightening quick movements. Hiei also appeared to enjoy the accompaniment. When he thought no one was looking, Hiei would slip Miki a small piece of fish earning him an approving chirp.

In regards to Botan, Miki spent much of her time playing in whatever room Botan chose to inhabit in the house. No part of the space seemed unfamiliar to her but Miki was content to wander so long as she knew Botan was close by. After a time which only Mi herself could determine, the small kitten would make her way up Botan's leg with the pricks of her claws until she had reached the ferry girl's shoulder. After that it was only a matter of time before Botan's attention was fully directed toward the small creature and her previous activity abandoned in favor of the kitten's small purrs of pleasure.

There were of course times when the couple had no choice but to leave the small creature behind in order to attend to their duties but even when she was gone from their sight she was never too far from their minds. Botan, the notoriously social butterfly she was, had made arrangements with their landlady for Miki's care and even adoption if worse came to worse and neither of them could return. An odd request for an average couple but, even without the whole picture, Ms. Inuzara, the landlady, knew something was different about them and so she accepted the terms of Miki's care. Botan would never tell anyone but on the way home from missions she tended to notice a spring in Hiei's step whenever they drew close to home. It seemed she wasn't the only one who missed their furry friend dearly.

Reunited with the both of them in the quiet of the evening Miki would place herself quite plainly between the demon and the spirit girl, certain that that was the spot designated for her. Hiei never corrected her and Botan thought the spot was quite fitting so she too never brought the placement of the kitten into conversation. Botan also never questioned why Miki had come to them or how. She knew Hiei had the answers but he hadn't told her so Botan knew it didn't matter. Perhaps it was a question of pride for him. After all, getting a kitten didn't seem to be the kind of thing that a fire demon would simply go out and do. Botan was happy just to have Miki in their life, she didn't need to know the hows or whys. Hiei had never been an open man, not even after all these years but Botan had learned to rely quite a bit more on what he did rather than what he said. Bringing Miki home, caring for her the way he did… That told her more than she could ever ask him to say.

Yes, having Miki was a very good thing, Botan thought as she leaned her head on Hiei's shoulder, slowly drifting off to sleep.

* * *

><p>- TBC -<p>

* * *

><p>Reviews Appreciated<p> 


	2. Chapter 2

A/N: I can't say I remember writing much of Shizuru before, it's been a real treat though. I hope guys like my interpretation of her, maybe I'll even write more of her in the future. Hiei was also a lot of fun to write, trapped by all the kittens, his weakness alas. Botan and Miki tag teaming him into a real softie. One more installment to go and that'll be a wrap folks!

* * *

><p><strong>VIII - Pt.2 <strong>

Hiei went to Kuwabara's house to see Yukina about a troublesome problem he'd been having. He wouldn't normally have gone to the Kuwabara residence for obvious reasons but he couldn't find Yukina anywhere else and, unfortunately, she seemed to have an odd attachment to the younger of the Kuwabara children.

Hiei entered the house through an open window in the upstairs level of the home. The room was, for lack of a better term, a complete wreck. Strewn about nearly all parts of the bedroom, discarded clothes lay in unwashed heaps. This had to be Kuwabara's room, Hiei concluded in displeasure.

The room was empty of people and therefore of no use to him. Stepping around the piles of cloth, Hiei did his best to avoid them but alas some of the garments managed to attach themselves to his feet. Hiei shook them off in disgust.

Wandering down the hallway Hiei made his travel brief, flitting from one room to the next, peaking in quickly before moving on.

The kitchen was where he ended his search, not because he found what he was looking for but rather because he found something else of interest. Lying in the corner of the kitchen, Kuwabara's mewling pet lay on her side, four small creatures of a similar manner squirmed at her exposed belly. Hiei approached them cautiously. From what he'd observed over the years these creatures were harmless but he didn't take any chances, he'd seen the fury of some demoness' when a stranger approached their young.

One of the smaller creature's seemed quite curious about Hiei's approach and it placed it's paws on the edge of the box, catapulting itself up and over the edge. Hiei didn't know why he did it but for some reason he reached out and caught the squirming creature in the palm of his hand. It looked up at him with an almost smile and mewled in delight.

Hiei crouched and set the pet on the ground, his crimson eyes following it with mild amusement as it brushed itself against his leg, emitting a strange growl of pleasure. Reaching down tentatively Hiei dragged his fingers along the creature's small back, a small smile sparking to his lips went the creature leaned into his touch. Sort of like Botan when he touched her shoulder during the night.

At some point Hiei had settled himself into a sitting position, allowing the small creatures to roam his lap while their mother looked on with a watchful but lazy eye. He stiffened when the patio door slid open but the small creatures on his lap prevented him from flickering away.

"Oh it's you," The elder Kuwabara sibling muttered as she set the groceries down on the kitchen table, a level of indifference ringing in her tone. Not the typical reaction Hiei's presence invoked but wholly he wasn't really all that surprised, "You're not murdering the kittens or something sick right?"

A fair question when you evaluated the track record of the demon sitting on her floor. Still, the question didn't hold much sway, more like she was questioning him about the weather, like she knew that even he could never do something so despicable.

"Hn. These things are too pathetic and weak to bother with." Hiei growled disgruntled, hunching his shoulders as if trying to hide the enjoyment he'd been experiencing moments before with the… kittens as Shizuru had named them.

"So what're you doing here anyhow? Aren't you supposed to be off with the ferry girl or something? I never would have figured you for the kitten watching type," Shizuru asked as she busied herself with putting away the groceries, a cigarette resting easily in her lips.

"I was looking for Yukina…" Hiei admitted slowly, watching as the kitten's left his lap one by one, returning to their mother's belly. All save the small kitten who had first approached him. This one curled up in his lap and closed it's eyes contently, "I had questions for her."

"Oh yeah, my little bro's girl… What'd you want to ask her?" Shizuru raised a brow, pausing to look at the gruff youkai. The deadly demon seemed almost out of place with an innocent kitten sleeping in his lap. She would have laughed but she knew the demon wouldn't have found it as amusing as she did.

"Hn." Hiei grunted but said nothing for several minutes, staring down at the ground and the sleeping creature in his lap. Normally he wouldn't even have considered telling this ningen his plight but her indifference to everything almost seemed to lure his thoughts from him.

"Botan…" He broke the silence abruptly, "She wants… one of these, things."

He took the creature in his hands and held it toward Shizuru as though to demonstrate numbly the source of his trouble. Shizuru nodded.

"Yeah, ferry girl mentioned something about that." Shizuru nodded, putting a hand on her hip and watching as Hiei brought the kitten back his lap, petting it almost absent mindedly. Thoughtfully she puffed on her cigarette, watching the youkai as he behaved so well with the kitten. "Look kid, those kitten's need a home. Kazuma wants to keep them all but we don't have enough room for them. Why don't you take that one home to Botan? It's taken a real liking to you."

Hiei rose his brows in surprise, looking down at the creature with a calculating gaze.

"Take it home to Botan. She'll know how to look after it. Just make sure you don't lose it or anything. Kazuma would never forgive me and I'd have to kick your ass." Shizuru concluded with a small 'hn' of her own. Clearly not afraid of the demon even though she'd seen what the demon was capable of many times over.

Hiei didn't respond with actual words but when he rose Hiei gathered the kitten into his hand, cupping it carefully as he walked toward the door. Looking back briefly Hiei gave Shizuru a small nod before leaving the Kuwabara residence, a small mewling creature in his possession. Perhaps it wasn't a good decision, perhaps Botan wouldn't even like the thing but Hiei brought it with him none the less. He liked the way it purred in his hand.

* * *

><p>- TBC -<p>

* * *

><p>Reviews Appreciated<p> 


End file.
